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Brown vs Topeka, 1954
A local all-white school rejected Linda Brown as she was an African American. NAACP looked into this case which was referred to the Supreme Court. The court unanimously decided that segregation in education was unconstitutional as the Constitution did not allow discrimination based on race. This was the beginning of desegregation in schools and the civil rights movement. -
Death of Emmett Till, 1955
The racially motivated murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till was an example of this increasing violence against black Americans. Emmett Till was accused of wolf-whistling at a white person's wife and a few days later was kidnapped and beaten to death. Her mother had an open funeral so that people could see what they had done to him. Grasped a lot of media attention and people were shocked by this incident. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955
Many blacks used public transport as they could not afford cars. The Alabama law stated that blacks had to give up their seats for white passengers if the bus was full. Rosa Parks was told to stand to allow a white passenger to sit down. She refused, leading to her arrest. NAACP decided to call a boycott of the buses. 70% of passengers were black and 90% didn't use the bus that day. Seeing the boycott effects, MIA ordered the complete desegregation of the buses and borrowed cars to be used. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1956
Many leading protestors were arrested for organising an illegal boycott. Helped along by inspirational speeches from MLK, the boycott lasted 381 days. The media picked up this story and the NAACP stepped in. The Browder vs Gayle case took place and argued that segregation was a violation of the equal treatment guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. Many Supreme Court judges ruled that segregation was unconstitutional and, in December 1956, the boycott came to an end. -
Civil Rights Act 1957
President Eisenhower and the Supreme Court were both in favour of improving the civil rights of blacks. The second bill was signed into law and aimed to improve black voting rights. In reality, this did very little to help as juries didn't support civil rights. -
Little Rock Nine, 1957
The federal court ruled that Central High School, Little Rock, must become integrated. Nine blacks wanted to study there but the white community objected this. When the nine blacks arrived, they were met by an angry mob who abused them. This was a national embarrassment and the riots continued, so the federal troops protected the children and were finally able to go to their classes. -
Sit-ins, 1960
Blacks sat at white-only lunch counters and were asked to leave but stayed there till the shop closed. The next day they returned with more supporters and this spread to other segregated shops. Protestors faced abuse from whites: food was thrown at them and they were physically attacked. The protestors did not fight back and followed a new tactic 'jail not bail' - instead of paying fines they were sent to prison which led to prison overcrowding. NAACP, SCLC, SNCC and CORE supported this movement -
Freedom Riders and the Anniston Fire bombing
The Supreme Court ordered that all bus stations should become integrated. CORE protestors organised 'freedom rides'. On the first freedom ride, the protestors used whites-only facilities and didn't face any problems. On 14 May 1961, the first bus carrying freedom riders arrived at Anniston where they were met by an angry mob who attacked the bus. The second bus to Anniston was also attacked and the police didn't intervene. JFK sent US Marshals to integrate buses, finishing freedom rides. -
Meredith Case, 1961
Black student Meredith applied for a place at Mississippi University and was rejected. NAACP helped him to take his case to court and even the Supreme Court ordered the university to admit him. They still refused as Meredith also had a conviction for false voter registration. On 29 September, JFK ordered the university to accept Meredith. Whilst the white students protested, officials escorted Meredith to university registration. On 1 October, Meredith finally got a place at university. -
Birmingham Peace Marches, 1963
Many civil rights groups organised sit-ins, boycotts and marches to end segregation in Birmingham as no facilities were integrated, several blacks and large Klan presence. The first march led to police arresting many leaders ie MLK and closing down parks. SNCC trained young protestors and a 'Children's March' happened. Police ordered dogs and water cannons to be used against protestors, and footage was broadcast worldwide. JFK brought the protests down and desegregation began slowly afterwards. -
March on Washington, 1963
Whilst JFK's civil rights bill was being debated in Congress, The NAACP, CORE, SNCC, SCLC organised a march in support of civil rights for blacks. JFK asked the march to be called off but twice the expected protestors showed up and marched peacefully at the Lincoln Memorial. MLK have his speech 'I have a dream'. It showed extent of support for equal rights. People were impressed how such a large number of protestors could remain peaceful. It put pressure on politicians to address the problem. -
Mississippi Freedom Summer, 1964 (Voting Rights)
Blacks were encouraged to vote but many refused. There was renewed interest in improving voter registration, supported by Bobby Kennedy, NAACP, CORE and SNCC organised to increase black voter registration. It was called 'Freedom Summer'. Only 7% of blacks were registered to vote. Civil rights groups organised campaigns ie Mississippi Freedom Party to teach literacy to blacks so they could pass the difficult literacy test. It was a failure as 1600 more were registered even though 17000 had tried. -
Civil Rights Act, 1964
JFK's Civil Rights bill was signed into law by President Johnson. The Act banned segregation in public places, businesses, and education, stated that the federal government, not individuals, would bring discrimination cases to court, made sure any businesses working with the government were not breaking the law (Fair Employment Practices Commission from WW2) and ensured the law wasn't being enforced (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). This Act ended segregation and was more effective. -
Selma, 1965
Selma, Alabama had a very low rate of black vote registration. When the SCLC came to campaign in Selma, the police resisted attempts to increase voter registration. A protest march began in Selma to petition for improved voting rights. The march was stopped by the police who were ordered to attack the protestors. President Johnson put a voting rights bill into Congress for debate. MLK led 25000 people peacefully from Selma to Montgomery and finally, the Voting Rights Act was passed. -
Race Riots
A large race riot took place in New York, just 2 weeks after the signing of the Civil Rights Act. There was still unhappiness within black communities. The riots were caused by frustration and anger at the poor living conditions in the ghettos, the failure of the police and city authorities to respond to reported problems, unfair treatment and sometimes violence by the police whose use of extreme violence during the riots made the situation worse. Many were hurt, arrested and property damaged. -
Creation of the Black Panthers
Created by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale and influenced by Malcolm X. Their followers wore black clothes, including black berets, and many carried guns. The Black Panthers wanted to replace capitalist society with a version of communism for the black community, monitored by the FBI. Their Ten-Point Programme demanded jobs, housing, education and an end to abuse for the blacks. The party achieved: free medical clinics for blacks, breakfast clubs for kids, black history classes and reduced violence. -
Black Power
There was increasing frustration with the lack of progress for blacks after the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act. 'Black Power' - a more direct and aggressive approach. Reasons why support for Black Power grew in the 1960s: segregation and discrimination continued despite changes in the law, a lack of job opportunities for blacks, terrible living conditions in the ghettos, increased publicity which spread ideas of Black Power, ie the importance of being proud of black culture and heritage. -
The 1968 Olympics
Held in Mexico and was broadcast to 1 billion people. Many blacks were in the US team. The most iconic image of Black Power came from the medal ceremony for the men's 200 metre race. Black athletes had come 1st and 3rd place. During the US national anthem they both gave the Black Power salute - a clenched fist in a black glove. They also wore black socks without shoes to highlight the poverty of blacks. They were heavily criticised by the media banning them from future Olympics. Very Effective.